OUTLIVE.
❝The dead were never the enemy.
It was the living. ❞
THE WALKING DEAD.
DARYL DIXON.
BOOK TWO of the LANCASTER SAGA.
[ SEASONS 4 - 6 ]
*****
*I do not own The Walking Dead or any of its characters. I simply write to write. Astrid, any addi...
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[ li. i'll meet you in the next one ]
august 14th, 2012
➸➸➸
"HOW LONG HAVE YOU known?"
Astrid Dixon sat ensconced in a bedside chair, her gaze piercing through Deanna's, a silent storm brewing within her forest-green eyes. The woman lying on the brink of life before her was drenched in perspiration, her labored breaths cutting through the heavy silence. Yet, Deanna seemed determined to somehow see the end of the day through.
In the near-suffocating stares that had followed her announcement, Astrid had run. Run—to the only space she could when trapped on a lone, crowded floor in a walker-filled home. And that was into Deanna's resting space; she was the only woman that Astrid found she could still converse with.
The others had brought only worry to the Dixon woman, their furtive glances consistently going to Astrid's gravid abdomen. In their horrified eyes, she could read their thoughts so blatantly, as if they even dared to say them aloud to her. Many seemed torn between deeming her a harbinger of hope, of new life—or an omen of doom, of sure death.
And though she would not say it aloud just yet, Astrid did not blame them. She could not when her own stance on the matter of her pregnancy hovered just beyond her grasp, too.
"I found out this morning," Astrid finally spoke, tears still clinging to her lashes.
Deanna swallowed tightly, seemingly absorbing this revelation before exhaling a heavy sigh. "What a shitty day," She muttered.
Astrid nodded in accord. "Can it get any worse?" She wondered aloud. "We're trapped in this overrun house, you're bitten, I'm walking for two . . . and the father doesn't even know."
"And if you stay here, he will never will," Deanna reminded her. "You need to leave with the others."
A shake of Astrid's head followed. "I'm staying by your side," She insisted. "You can't be in this house alone when it falls."
"I am already condemned, Astrid. You are not. None in this house are, except for me," Deanna murmured. "Now, will you let Bailey go on her own, or force her to stay with you?" Her voice softened. "I've witnessed your bond with that child. She's yours now, just as the life growing within you is yours. Your choices are no longer solely yours to make. Every decision should be for your child's well-being. I speak from experience—I am a mother."
"I'll die out there," Astrid protested. "I'm trying to stay alive for this baby."
"If you stay here, you will die," Deanna reasoned. "Outside, there's still a chance. Outside, you won't be alone. But within these walls, you will be. I will not be responsible for your death."
"And I won't be responsible for yours," Astrid retorted.
Deanna reached for Astrid's hand and squeezed it as tightly as she could. The feeble pressure spoke of Deanna's deteriorating strength. Another droplet of sweat disappeared beneath her stained blouse. "Do you believe in an afterlife?" She ventured.
